Malala Yousafzai meets Brian Lara

Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai expressed honour upon meeting West Indian cricketing legend Brian Lara at Port-of-Spain. The activist was in Trinidad and Tobago to address students of the National Academy for Performing Arts on her campaign when she happened to meet Lara.

“I met an amazing person yesterday [July 28] who I thought I would never meet in my life. I met Brian Lara,” Yousafzai was quoted as saying. Lara was later spotted giving some tips to Malala’s younger brother, who accompanied her on the tour. According to her, Lara said that in cricket, one needs to learn step-by-step. Speaking to a students gathering, Yousafzai equated cricket with education by saying that one needs to take education step-by-step as well.

Brian Lara (left) is one of the most prolific West Indian batsmen of all time; photo credit: West Indies cricket

The teenage activist rose to prominence when she started writing about life in the Swat region of Pakistan, which had a heavy influence of the Taliban. Her writings appeared anonymously on the BBC Urdu blog and later appeared on radio and television. Her activism for female education made her a nominee for the ‘International Children’s Peace Prize.

The Taliban, which had been sending her threats for quite some time, attempted to assassinate her on October, 2012. The attack led to an outpouring of sympathy and anger throughout the world. While she was being treated at the Birmingham Hospital, protests were being held against her attack in several Pakistani cities and celebrities such as Madonna and Angelina Jolie dedicated their works of art to her.

Upon recovery, she decided to continue her activism in the field of women’s rights and education. Today she is one of the most influential people in the world, having addressed the United Nations, met the US President Barack Obama, the Queen of England as well as getting nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

First Published on August 2, 2014 7:39 PM ISTLast updated on August 6, 2014 9:17 PM IST